


What the Snowman Learned About Love

by strangeandsombre (MysteriousStranger)



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, In the Time of the Bells, Snow Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-25
Updated: 2015-03-25
Packaged: 2018-03-19 13:18:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3611475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysteriousStranger/pseuds/strangeandsombre
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carmilla and Laura have a snow fight. And then a moment. Yep.</p><p>May or May not be in the <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/3198002/chapters/6953918">"In the Time of the Bells"</a> universe, however you want to read it.</p><p>Cross-posted at <a href="http://strangeandsombre.tumblr.com/">http://strangeandsombre.tumblr.com/</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	What the Snowman Learned About Love

Carmilla was silently reading some old book, a slight frown creasing her forehead, her slender fingers frozen with the cold. Her breath wafted out in gentle clouds in the frosty air and her usually pale cheeks had a slight rose tinge. Long, dark lashes lay curled against pale skin as she looked down at her book, concentrating hard.

Laura’s own breath caught at the sight of her. To say she was beautiful was so inadequate. But there was nothing to be said in its place. The same tired words had to be used over and over until they were meaningless and worn out. She was loveliness itself, though what lay below the surface was troubling. If only Laura could remember everything, and snatch at all their little moments, and protect them from fading like the full-blown rose whose day was over. Beautiful, but soon to disappear.

More than just her looks, there was the deeper sense of furious loneliness Laura felt in her. She was someone remote and unloveable, who needed to be loved. Such a thing was apt to tangle her heartstrings together into one hard, painful knot if she thought about it too much. Because Laura was lonely herself, and perhaps if she searched too deeply, it would turn out that selfishly, it was really herself she felt sorry for.

Carmilla, unaware she was being observed, frowned hard as she sunk into the book. Laura’s lips parted as she stared. She could see her own warm breath leave her, an indication of the growing warmth she felt inside.

Well, she wasn’t brave enough to bend down and kiss away that furrowed brow for her, so she did the next best thing.

She lobbed a snowball at Carmilla’s face.

It thudded against her wool coat shoulder and broke apart in a storm of snowflakes. What was left of it plopped into Carmilla’s hot chocolate, just as she was lifting it to her lips.

Carmilla was startled. She narrowed her eyes. She looked up at Laura, who smiled back cheekily with a mock guilty expression. Slowly and deliberately, Carmilla put down her cup of ruined hot chocolate, she put down her precious book.

"You are such a child," she said witheringly.

"You wanna make something of it?" smiled Laura, low and laughing, biting her bottom lip with a cheeky grin. She hadn’t intended for it to come out sounding so flirty, and when Carmilla raised her eyebrow into a finely brushed arch, Laura blushed, shifting her eyes away.

Carmilla, with calm, precise movements, drew a pair of soft leather gloves from her coat pocket, dark brown for a change, rather than her usual black. She put them on carefully, as Laura watched, each finger stretching the leather tight. Laura swallowed hard.

Her stiff wool collar turned up against the wind, her dark hair framing her face, she bent down for snow and studiously formed it into a snowball. She kept her face expressionless. Laura suppressed a laugh as the tension rose.

"Run," Carmilla said in a low, dangerous voice, staring at Laura intently.

Laura burst out into a sudden, joyful laugh as she sped across the snow, away from Carmilla, down the gentle slope of the hillside towards a stand of trees and shrubbery. She expected to have the snowball flung at her back as she bent down and hastily patted together a revenge snowball, but when she lifted her head up, Carmilla was right there, entirely too close, her eyes glittering. Laura lost the ability to breathe.

Until Carmilla quickly reached out and dropped the snowball behind her neck, smiling widely, almost like a delighted child. She stuck the tip of her rosy tongue out between her white teeth as she smiled.

"Ugh," Laura yelped with the sudden cold, doing a weird dance to get the snow off her, "No fair! You can’t use your powers!" She pushed her half-formed snowball into Carmilla’s smirking face. "Cheater!"

"Panther actually," laughed Carmilla, spluttering with a face full of snow, "oh no?" And she dumped a pile of snow on Laura’s head.

"You’ll pay for this - vampire!" Laura was just flinging powdery snow now at Carmilla in an imitation of a blizzard, unable to help shrieking with a gurgling laughter as they danced around each other.

"Ooh, brave words from such a small human." Carmilla threw more snow, zipping behind her quickly every way she turned, until Laura slipped and fell face forward in trying to escape. Carmilla pulled her up quickly, more efficient than gentle. Laura’s entire front had a fine dusting of white snow, she resembled a tiny, walking snowman. Carmilla’s gloved hand grabbed Laura’s woollen mittened hand as she dusted her face off with the other. "Sorry, snow girl." She suppressed an amused smile.

"Let go of me, you beast!" Laura gave a mock scream as she pulled away and ran towards the trees.

"Revenge is mine, sunshine," smirked Carmilla, running after her easily.

Laura ducked under a small evergreen tree, whose branches arched their way to the ground. Inside, it was a makeshift shelter, with a carpet of fallen pine needles, almost snowless and dry, but Laura saw too late there was no way out except the way she came.

She collided hard with Carmilla on the way out, whose arms reached out for her automatically, as the momentum cracked their heads together painfully.

"Ow," groaned Carmilla, who had broken Laura’s fall to the ground. They’d fallen gracefully, because it was Carmilla and she didn’t know how to fall any other way. Laura was hardly winded. "My head - you really like to play rough." She rubbed her head, her fine dark hair falling into her eyes.

"You’re the cheating cheater!" Laura protested, rubbing her own sore head, wriggling awkwardly as she tried to balance herself, trying to ignore how stunning Carmilla was looking. Literally stunning in this case. Carmilla steadied her with her hands around her, as Laura poked her with her elbow.

"Oof! Do you mind getting off me, cupcake? You’re kind of the abominable snowbrat right now," Carmilla said lazily, not bothering to release her arms around Laura’s body. Their eyes locked onto each other. It was Laura’s gaze that eventually broke and dropped down to Carmilla’s lips. Carmilla’s arms tightened.

"Why don’t you make me," Laura said softly, not intending to sound so breathless and shy. She bit her lip without thinking, her heart beating fast. Carmilla stared, letting out a deep breath.

"Two can play at this game," she murmured, before flipping Laura on her back without effort. The ground was cold and hard underneath her back, but she was burning up where Carmilla pressed up against her. Carmilla’s winter coat had flown open, covering them, and Carmilla’s hair fell over Laura’s face, tickling her neck. She shivered.

"Cold?" asked Carmilla lightly. Laura shook her head shyly, staring deep. She was so beautiful. Carmilla shifted slightly on top of Laura, pulling off her glove over her head, and Laura let out a breath.

"How about now?" she smiled cheekily, running a cold fingertip down Laura’s exposed neck.

"Ahh!" Laura gasped loudly, shivering and lifting her head up with the shock of the cold, "You -!"

But her words were cut off as Carmilla kissed her deeply, soft, warm lips against her own, fitting perfectly. Carmilla’s breath was warm against her face as she kissed back, both of them hungry for each other. Laura’s head lay back, cradled by Carmilla’s gloved hand, as Carmilla pressed her into the earth. Her cold fingers caressed her face, pushing back her hair, her cap falling off unnoticed.

Carmilla pressed gentle kisses all over her cold face and Laura shivered uncontrollably. Carmilla bent down and licked Laura’s cold earlobe into her warm, wet mouth, sucking gently and tugging. Laura trembled and let out a shuddering breath.

"What - are you do- doing?" Laura asked, forgetting how to coordinate her breathing with her speaking. Carmilla looked at her seriously for a moment.

"I’m warming you up," she smiled, tilting her head fondly. Laura wanted nothing more than Carmilla just at that moment. She wanted her furiously and forever. It showed in her eyes, and she hoped Carmilla would know how to read it. Her eyes broke away, half lidded and dazed.

"Just as well," Laura said, faking a nonchalance she did not feel, "since your idea of playing in the snow leaves me cold. Cheater." She whispered finally, licking her cold lips slowly.

"Oh ha ha," murmured Carmilla, kissing her neck, "Are you telling me you don’t like what’s happening - right now?" Her voice was low and hoarse, the only sign that she might be finding it hard to control herself.

Carmilla kissed a warm, wet trail up to her lips and for a while they kissed, their tongues slipping in shyly and teasing their way into warm mouths. Carmilla pulled her head closer, kissing her passionately, just on the edge of roughness. It was an indescribable feeling, that electric spark that sped through her body, sending off a shower of sparks, finally showing on Laura’s face as she blushed furiously. She clung to Carmilla, pulling her in impossibly closer. She wanted Carmilla everywhere. It wouldn’t do to let Carmilla get too smug though. Laura sucked Carmilla’s bottom lip into her mouth and tugged cheekily.

"I suppose I can learn to tolerate it," Laura smiled a wide smile, slipping her hands around Carmilla’s back, under the heavy cover of her winter coat. She quickly pulled her mittens off and suddenly slid her cold hands under her clothes, against the warm, bare skin of Carmilla’s back.

"Ahh!" Carmilla gasped loudly, jerking her head up, her back curved. Her hips jerked down at the same time, her leg pushing down against Laura. The sudden, molten jolt that pushed out from the centre of her body sent warm waves spreading throughout every nerve. She was dizzy and drunk on it, and felt so warm she wanted to melt.

They sighed in unison, and stared at each other, breathing heavily in great rasping breaths. Laura rubbed Carmilla’s back in gentle circles, pressing her closer each time, her hands warming up rapidly. She could feel the slight ripple of muscle under the soft skin as Carmilla shifted her body. She drew her hands up Carmilla’s back until they reached her shoulders, before dragging her fingers lightly down again.

Carmilla breathed on her fingertips over and over, her deep, dark eyes never leaving Laura’s. It was silent under the cover of the trees, with the soft hush of the snow all around them. Laura looked back at her. Still, Carmilla breathed on her slender fingers. The gaze was on the cusp of being too deep, too intimate.

"What are you doing?" Laura breathed quietly, her body trembling with a heady, dizzying delight.

"Warming my fingers," said Carmilla.

**Author's Note:**

> There is kind of an obscure Bells reference, but you can also read this as a standalone work, which is why I'm posting it separately. Enjoy, let me know what you think.


End file.
